So Cold
by impossibleboy1990
Summary: Following the deaths of Tosh and Owen, Ianto is heartbroken when Jack grows cols toward him and demoted him back to tea boy. But why is Jack really avoiding Ianto? Is there someone else, or is it something more romantic?


Ianto Jones scrubbed at the sofa so hard that his teeth were grit. _Where are they? They've been gone almost two hours and I've not heard a word from Jack or Gwen_ , he thought.  
An alert had gone off on Tosh's computer. _Tosh_ , Ianto thought with a pang of sadness. Jack and Gwen had run off to see what was wrong. Ianto had wanted to join them, but Jack had told him to stay at the Hub and "tidy the place up."  
"I'm not the maid," Ianto muttered, trying his damnest to get the stain out of the cushions. "And I'm more than the tea boy." _At least, I thought I was._  
Suddenly, the klaxon sounded, making Ianto jump. His heart hammering in his chest, he turned to the entrance of the Hub to see the metal gate slide aside as the cog door rolled open.  
 _Thank God they've made it!_ he thought, smiling hopefully.  
Captain Jack Harkness stumbled through the doorway with two Weevils - one on a collar in each hand. The feisty beasts fought tooth and nail to free themselves, to no avail.  
"Ianto, we're home," Jack bellowed gregariously.  
"I was starting to worry," Ianto replied softly. He made his way to the entrance.  
"Nothing to worry about," Jack said dismissively.  
Ianto felt a cold stab in his heart. Ever since Tosh and Owen had died in the line of duty Jack had been cold toward him. _It's been a month and a half,_ Ianto reasoned. _Surely he doesn't still blame himself? Has he grown bored of me?_  
Since the deaths of their beloved teammates, Jack and Ianto's romantic relationship had halted. No flirting, no dates, no lingering looks, and no sex. Anyone who knew Jack Harkness knew that he did not, could not go without sex.  
"We were careful," Gwen soothed, noticing Ianto's sad puppy dog eyes. She smiled warmly.  
Ianto shot her a grateful smile and turned back to his boss and maybe (ex) boyfriend.  
"Calling it a night, then?" he asked, his tone hopeful.  
"Why not?" Jack sighed. "I'll take these two down to the holding cells to keep Janet company. Go home."  
Without another word, Jack spun on his heel and marched the Weevils toward the holding cells, the tail of his military coat floating behind him dramatically.  
Gwen grabbed her purse from her workstation and slung it over her shoulder, flipping her long black hair back.  
"Everything all right, Ianto?" she asked in her lilting Welsh accent.  
Ianto gazed into Gwen's warm, beseeching green eyes. _Should I tell her?_ he wondered. _Will she think I'm pathetic?_  
"It's Jack," Ianto blurted, squeezing his eyes shut.  
"Oh, Ianto." Gwen crossed to him and enveloped him in a hug. "Jack? He's a hard one to figure out, isn't he?"  
"Yeah," Ianto whispered. "Things were going so well between us - at least, I thought they were. Now he can barely look at me. He doesn't let me go out on missions, he's got me back to tidying this place up like the bloody maid."  
"I have noticed that he's been distant with you," Gwen confided. "I assumed you'd had a row."  
"No. Nothing." Ianto stared down at his dress shoes, his face aflame with embarrassment.  
"Look, I've got to get home. Rhys is making lasagna for dinner and if I'm late again he'll divorce me." She chuckled. "Go talk to Jack. I'm sure you boys can sort it."  
"Okay," Ianto said with more confidence than he felt. "Thanks, Gwen."  
"Anytime, darling." She kissed him on the cheek and winked at him. "Good luck."  
Ianto laughed and put a hand behind his head shyly.  
"Oh, and," Gwen said, turning back to him, "if I get here in the morning and you and Jack are still up to naked hide and seek, or other naughty shenanigans, I'll be demanding severance pay."  
"Maybe call first," Ianto suggested, smiling.  
"Will do. Good night."  
"Good night."  
Ianto watched Gwen until she had pulled the cog door shut behind her. _All right, Jones,_ Ianto thought, straightening his red tie. _Showtime._  
With slow, trepidatious steps, Ianto followed the labyrnthine corridors to the holding cells.  
"Jack," he called, shuffling his feet.  
He was met with the sounds of the caged Weevils growling warningly.  
"Jack?" Ianto said again, knitting his brow in confusion. Jack wasn't there. _He locked up two Weevils in that short time?_ Ianto nodded appreciatively.  
He went back the way he had come, going up the stairs to Jack's office. _He's got to be here, he can't have just disappeared,_ he reckoned.  
Ianto stopped outside of Jack's office and took a deep, steadying breath. Before he could chicken out, he raised his hand and knocked assertively.  
He waited a few seconds, listening intently for any response. He knocked again when none was forthcoming.  
Sighing with irritation, he cracked the door open to pure darkness. Jack wouldn't be sitting in his office with the lights off. Not alone, anyway. Hurriedly, he flipped the light on to an empty office.  
Crestfallen, Ianto went back downstairs to the main room in the Hub. _Where could Jack be?_ he wondered. Raking a hand through his neatly styled dark hair, he blew air out of his cheeks.  
It was then that he noticed that the light was on in Owen's autopsy room. _No longer Owen's. Owen is dead._  
Frowning in confusion, he crossed the main hall, before stopping at the railing at the top of the stairs.  
Down below, Jack sat on the floor, staring at the spot where Tosh had died. The bloodstains were gone - thanks to Ianto's superior cleaning skills -~ but he could still picture the Japanese woman lying there in Jack's arms, her blood leaking out onto the cold, sterile floor.  
Ianto shook his head to clear the bad memory, and descended the stairs, his eyes trained on Jack.  
"I thought I told you to go home," Jack said without looking up.  
"We need to talk, Jack," Ianto insisted with false bravado.  
Jack looked up and Ianto could see the tears in Jack's ice blue eyes.  
Without a thought, he strode toward Jack and threw his arms around Jack, who stiffened. Ianto sighed contendly as the scent of Jack embraced him - pheromones and all.  
Jack stepped back, running a hand through his messy hair.  
"Is it me?" Ianto asked, choking back a sudden sob.  
"Is what you?" Jack shot back.  
"The reason you don't want me anymore. Did you get bored of me?" He voice came out as barely a whisper.  
"Oh, Ianto Jones..." Jack drawled looking anywhere but at his partner.  
"Go on, then," Ianto persisted. "Say it."  
Jack looked into Ianto's eyes and chewed his lip.  
"Fucking tell me, Jack!" Ianto shouted as tears blurred his vision and streamed down his cheeks. "Tell me why you can't even bear to look at me anymore! Why you keep me holed up in here like a caged bird! Tell me!" He smacked his hands down onto Jack's hard chest.  
Suddenly, he felt Jack's arms around him, and the tears poured down even faster. _I've never felt safer than when I'm in your arms,_ Ianto thought.  
"Is there someone else?" he cried into Jack's neck.  
"There's no one else," Jack replied stiffly.  
"Then...?"  
"I lost Tosh and Owen. Suzie. I have lost so much in my life, but I can't lose you, too, Ianto Jones. I won't lose you."  
At Jack's words, Ianto peered up at him, confused.  
"What?" he asked. _He can't lose me?  
_ "I need you safe. That's why I've been making you stay back on missions. Since Owen and Tosh died all I can think of is what would I do if I lost you, too?"  
Jack's voice was raw with emotion and he blinked back tears. Ianto grabbed his face and kissed him passionately, taking charge for once.  
Jack didn't resist, and the kiss grew more passionate as they wound their fingers through the other's hair.  
Ianto was panting when he finally broke the kiss. Jack was breathing heavily, too.  
"I need you," Ianto murmured, his voice silky. He unfastened his tie and let it fall to the cold floor.  
Jack watched the tie fall and licked his lips in anticipation.  
"It _has_ been awhile," Jack noted huskily. He reached for Ianto, who stepped back.  
"Not so fast, Captain Harkness. The thrill is in the chase."  
Jack's eyes lit up with excitement and lust.  
"Naked hide and seek?" he asked with a lascivious grin.  
"Only if you don't cheat Ianto replied, removing his suit jacket.  
"I never cheat " Jack insisted with a laugh.  
"Keep it that way."  
Ianto undid the buttons on his dresshirt before dropping it on the floor. Next, he kicked off his dress shoes, before removing his trousers and boxers.  
"Well?" he asked, eying the still clothed Jack. "Care to seek?"  
"You bet!" Jack said excitedly, removing his clothes lightning fast.  
Ianto eyed Jack's naked muscular body. _No wonder he turned me_ , he thought, licking his lips lustily.  
"Hide," Jack commanded.  
Not needing to be told twice, Ianto dashed up the stairs.  
"No peeking!" he called over his shoulder.  
"Nice bum!" Jack shouted after him.  
Ianto bolted around the main hall and up the stairs to the board room.  
"Ready or not, here I come and so will you!" Jack bellowed.  
Ianto quietly shut the door behind him and hid under the long wooden desk.  
His heart raced in his chest as he waited anxiously for Jack to find him - he always did.  
After a few minutes, Ianto heard the door open and the light switched on. He could see Jack's naked legs and bare feet padding on the floor as he searched the room.  
Ianto swallowed excitedly as Jack walked past him.  
Suddenly. Jack dropped to his haunches and pulled Ianto from under the desk.  
Any protest from Ianto was silenced as Jack crushed his mouth against Ianto's. Their tongues entwined like two snakes mating.  
A moan escaped Ianto's throat as Jack reached down and brushed his overly sensitive, hard penis.  
Breaking the kiss, Ianto slowly descended to his knees, never breaking eye contact with Jack.  
He slipped Jack's hard cock into his mouth, relishing how full his mouth felt. Using his lips to sheath his teeth, he took Jack deeper into his mouth. With his tongue, he licked the tip and then swirled it down the shaft. He was rewarded with the saltiness of Jack's arousal.  
Jack reached down and gently lifted Ianto back up to his full height. Eyes leaden with lust, he guided Ianto down so that he was now on the boardroom table.  
"Ready?" Jack asked softly.  
"I need you, Jack," Ianto whispered.  
Before he knew it he felt pain as Jack eased inside of him. He bit his lip to keep from crying out. It was an odd sensation, this.  
Slowly, Jack began moving his hips, his breath steady  
 _I've missed this,"_ Ianto thought, pulling Jack down on top of him.  
Their lips entwined as Jack started to move his hips faster. Ianto moaned passionately, burying his hands in Jack's hair.  
They lost themselves in the moment as each flex of Jack's hips brought them both immeasurable pleasure. Ianto held Jack tightly, never wanting him to go. Jack kissed Ianto's mouth, neck and cheeks, moving faster and faster.  
The pressure continued to build until, at last, they both climaxed.  
Jack collapsed into Ianto's waiting arms.  
"That was...wow!" Jack panted.  
"I love the way you look when you cum," Ianto said softly.  
Jack raised his head, gazing down at his lover.  
"How do I look when I cum?" he asked.  
"Sort of like this."  
Ianto scrunched his face up, closing one eye and rolling the other one back into his head.  
"I do not!" Jack insisted, laughing.  
"A little," Ianto replied, smiling warmly. "I love you, Jack."  
Silence hung between them as Jack hovered over him, staring intently into his eyes. Finally, a grin broke out on his face.  
"I love you, too, Ianto."  
"You do?" Ianto queried, trying to detect a lie in Jack's eyes.  
"I do. I don't say it enough, but I do."  
"So you're not just dating me for the sex, then?"  
Jack smirked.  
"Oh, Ianto Jones, ye of little faith."  
"Just curious."  
"I've lived a long life," Jack said, suddenly serious. "I've loved quite a few people, but I haven't loved anyone as much as I love you.".  
"Then you have to stop treating me like I'm made of glass, Jack."  
Jack sighed, sitting up.  
"I can't lose you.".  
"You'll lose me one way or another," Ianto reminded him softly. "Whether I die tomorrow or in sixty years' time...you'll outlive me, Jack. A hundred years from now I'll be dust and you'll still be here."  
"I know," Jack said, his voice heavy.  
"So let's enjoy the time we've got, yeah?"  
"Yeah," Jack agreed.  
Ianto leaned in to kiss him before saying, "It's your turn."  
With a devilish grin, Jack took off in a flash.

* * *

The next morning, Gwen was walking into the Hub, quietly humming a Kylie Minogue tune. She took a bite of her bagel and washed it down with a sip of coffee.  
The cog door slid open and the heels of her boots clacked on the stone floor, reverberating off of the high, rock walls.  
She set her purse and coffee down at her workstation and noticed that ianto hadn't greeted her with a fresh cuppa yet.  
"Ianto?" she called. "Jack?"  
She heard a gasp and whirled around to see Ianto completely naked except for Jack's hand covering his junk. Jack was fast asleep on the sofa.  
"G-Gwen!" Ianto stammered, his face beet red.  
"I'm sorry!" Gwen exclaimed, hands covering her mouth. "I was supposed to call."  
"We fell asleep..."  
"We need a signal, like a sock on the door."  
"I'll keep that in mind."  
"No, no worries. I'll just, erm, go look at the bay for a bit, eh? It's not often I get to smell the roses."  
Ianto watched her leave before lying back down on the sofa. Instincively, Jack snaked his arm around him. _I could get used to this,_ Ianto thought, closing his eyes peacefully.


End file.
